Shoe shining installation and the elements thereof



Ost. 27, 1931. H. E. scHULsE 1,828,820

i SHOE SHINING INSTALLATION AND THE ELEMENTS THEREQF.

Filed Jan. 1'?. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 27, 1931. H. E, scHULsE 1,828,820

SHOE SHINING INSTALLATION AND THE vELEMENTS THEREOF Filed Jan. 17, 1927 2 sheets-sneer 2 finzi Snom/woz nexium n scHULsE. or Naw max. `N Y.. AssIGNoa 'ro a J f 4 PonA'rIoN or NEW `-:rom:

Patented. 1.931

UNITED lsf'mras PATENT carica' j A. COB- snon summe unsrsnm'rron Nn 'run ELEMENTS 'rnnanoir application mea Jammin-1927. 'serial no. 161,497.

My present invention is lconcerned primarily with installations and 'equi ment for shoe polishing, although many o the features of the invention are applicable to other uses.

It is amon the objects of provide lequ pment ofthe above type, by which shoes may be rapidly olishedto a higher and more permanent po 'sh, than was practicable heretofore, yet requiring only a small fraction of the time consumed y hand polishing, and requiring n o muscular" eiortl on the part of the operator. f

Another Objectis to provide power driven e upment ofthe typementioned, which is of small bulk, yet so rugged as to without danger' ,of derangement, the hard usage to which it may besubjected by me# `chanically unskilled operators and which, in fact, is substantially fool-proof.

Another object, is to provide shoefshining equipment of the type noted dispensing with the menial labor of a boot black and renderixg the operation a clean and substantially e ortless one..`

Another object is to provide' shoe shining Aequipment of the type noted, in .which the Y danger is obviated, of catching and snapping the shoe laces or otherxdangling .portions of the garments of the customer', and in which.

thereis no fdanger of thyeA polish becoming l splashed in operation Aof the mechanical parts.

Another obj ect` is tqproiridev aninstallation of the type 'noted'inwhich the brushes may be readily interchanged in accordance with requirements.

Another object is to provid; an installation of the type noted readily onstru'cted at small expense from parts either of standard' constructionxor readilyvmade from standard stock. i

Another object is to provide a shoe polishing` implement of the character noted in whichthe brush automatically'adjusts itself for eliicient application tothe surface being polished and in which overloading the driving motor by too suddenly applying the load thereto is effectively prevented.

. the patron the invention to ens out thev creases in withstand,

scale of the resilient bel ving shaft l5 drawings in which is shown one or more o various possible em-,

and rags, which l bodim'ents of the several features of this invention.

' Fig. 1 is aside view partly in section showing a complete installation in use, y

Eig. 2 is a-fragmentary view in longitu dinal cross-section of the ilexible driving shaft and its brush,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail on a larger .,oupling, f Fig.'4v is a detail of th'e flexible shaft,

Fig. l5 is a transverse sectional view on a.

larger scale showing the brush, its handle and associated structure,

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the*v mounting end of the -exible' driving U shaft, and;

Fig. 7 isla-perspective view-of a modicaf, y l

tion ofth'e operators seat..

Referringl now toth drawings and 'more thereof, Ilhave shown.

particularly to Fig.' 1 an installation comprising a customers seating unit A including a-platform 10, a seat 11 and foot'rests 12, and preferably a separate and distinct operators unit B including a s or stool 13, a rotary brush 14 and a flexible drivvthrough which the brush isrotated'from` an appropriate source of power,

the operator holding the brush by a handle.

16 'at the outerend of the flexible shaft.

These constituent lelements will" now be separately described.

The cust(wwwa seating @mit This unit comprises a low platform'lO near the rear. `of which is mounted the stool including preferably a vertical hollow metal postl? having themetal disk 18 at the top thereof,` which carriesthe wooden seat ,l1-`

repasse I The post is secured to the baseprefe'rably by K,The installation is mounted by the custommeans of an ornamental nut 20, threaded .er stepping thereon from the side or the rear.

upon the post, formed as a stool base and Thus, there is avoided the discomfort-of steptightened against the platform 10 by a nut ping over foot rests, bottles and rags. In ,f

1 21, threaded upon the llower extremity of the fact, my device is not accessible for mounting 70 from the front, since the hand rail frame 26- '25 and the shield 27 ar'e in the Way.

The operators mit post and against the lower face of the platform.

At the front of the platform are mounted a pair of brackets 22, eachcarrying an upf standing rod 23 to the top of'each of which This un1t` preferably comprises a four l5 issecured afoot rest- 12. The foot rest is legged stool 18 having a wooden seat 45 and preferably fixed, but' instea-d of tilting upprovided with rubber casters 46 to assure ward, as is usual, it is tilted downward insulation. Under the seat, there is mountthrough an angle ypreferably of approxied a suitable electric motor 47 which is prefmately 2O degrees. v.By this arrangement, the erably of only one-*fourth horse power. The 80 tendency of the shoeevamp to curl upward motor may be energized 'from a wall outlet and to afford transverse creases not accessible 48, as shown, by the insertion of a terminal either to the dauberor to the polisher, is over-AVA plug49 at the end of the flexible motor conwings 28H which are secured into a lnitary -k wings are lsecured 'to the uprights 26 by i seat-4 and almost directly above theforward l a single one-df the customers seats, it `will be 'pressfupon the full area of the foot rest.

selves readily to the mounting thereat of a shield 27, especially desirable in view of the Kflanges 31 thereof. The lower edge of the come. The vamp will naturall y straighten duits 50. A small rotary snap s'witch .51 as the sole of the us"r is tilted ownward to controls the motor circuit and is disposed g directly underfthe seat and at the forward, In order to` afford added comfort to the end thereof, by which the operator can read user while bringing the sole of the shoe into, ily open and cbse the motor circuit,`lwithout face contact withthel downwardly inclined rising from or turning on his stohor reachoot rests, I provide a convenient handle. ing out. Betweenthe two forward legs of 90 This handle is-preferably ahand rail 2,5-, supthe stool is' disposed a metal panel 52, portedfupon a pair of uprights 26 near the .through which extends 'a fixed bearing bushfront of the platform, said uprights being, ing'53 provided with an Aixnner flange 54 ,p secured in positionnupon the platform, prefclamped against theY metal'of the panel by erably. by an arrangementiof nuts similar to a nut 55 threaded upon the exterior part ofthat described in connection with the seau thevbllshmg and having a large face 5 6 Thus, the user while adjusting his feet upon agams Pane/1:52- W1l1h111-the-bl1sh1ng 1S the foot rests, would grasp the han-d rail -unmounted i@ mechamcafl termmal m ',he form til C0mf0tab1e r of a bearmgstub shaft 57 the outer end of The uprights and hand rail also lend them- Fluch has a' Stop .s holder 581 ami up?? the w inner end of which'is secured as by a set screw 59, thehubof a driven pulley-60. The motor shaft' has a smaller driving" pulley 61 and the torque is transmitted from the motor f" to the driven pulley preferably by a resilient 1,9' belt 62, the purpose of whichwill appear more fully hereinafter. W

Since my resilient belt per se is Vnot broadmodern vogue of short skirts. `The upper' part of the shield is preferably lcurved olitward and ydownward from the hand rail, as shown, and the lower part thereof extends vertically downward. The shield has lateral scfucnurefherewithiy means of angle straps ly ey tlillliilnltfip ,1 (not ShOWI1) The Stralght 1111161' ends Qf the, ofv the spring are connected together to form -an endless belt, preferably bymeansof aI shortlength of coupling spring 64, .'of dam eter somewhat smaller than that of the spring 63, sq as to bereadily threaded `by a m screwing atlon 'partway intp one end` of the spring', whereupon the opposite end of spring from Fig. 1'. Ample` room is thus afforded y#5,3 1S lthreaded upon/the pIOrlldIlg end 0f for the knees o f even a tall person. e theC0l1P11ngSPnng- The be bis Prefl'all '-12' Preferably an elec'trevlamp L-smi1ar-t0 mounted to' 'exerta substantial resilientpress'crews 30- extending through the' narrow edge shield preferably extends but little below theends of thefoot rests, as will appear clearly those employed in show Windows is'l mounted Sure 11.15011' the Pulleysnear the lowe'r edge ofshield27 and serves `.Preferably the bushi g 53 is mountedunto illuminate -the shoes supported on foot del' the SfOul S0 aS t0 tilt- Slightly upward., as rests 12. Y shown, forl a punpose which will appeanw While I have shown in the'drawiilgsbut hereinafter. To this end, the motor 47 `iS preferably-mounted at a corresponding'tilt, as showny inFig.l 1, by employing a Wedgeshaped mounting base 65, so that the transmission belt 62 extends proper relation in 13| understood that these seats., would preferably bearrangedpne next to thepther on a single` platform.

:plne c li i' tween which:

it-.transmits terrineymounted the flexible; driving shaft 6` f this purpose, the extremity of said shaft has brazed thereonto a terminal socket 68 threadedupon a correspondingnipple 69 formed d ,of the. stub shaft 7.

rigidly -upon the en T e opposite preferably'extends and vis brazedinto a corresponding socket 70 in the extremity ofl a metal haft 71 upon which therotary brush Mis mounted. The brush and its specific mount will be described hereinafter.

In order to protect the flexible shaft from injury, I provide preferably an armor sheath 75 of -helically wound interfolded sheet metal comprises a helical strip. In my. construction, however, preferably the armor is formed of two telescoped sheaths and 752, the outer surface of the inner sheath affording a sliding bearing for the inner surface of the outer sheath. Y

The compound armor sheathis preferablyfxed at the stool end by brazing into a coriresponding socket 76 of. a terminal piece therefor, which affords a passage 78 therethrough for the iiexible shaft 67, said terminal piece being threaded at its extremity at 79upon the bearing bushing 53.

The opposite end of the armor sheath has preferably secured thereto a sleeve 80 which encircles and affords a running bearing forl the haftl 71 and also serves as a handle grasped b the operator in use.v

Prefera ly the sleeve 80 is of' composite construction including a collar 81 to which the outer end of the armor 75 is brazed, a section 80 of greater len th serving as the bearing for the haft an bein threadedat 82 into collar 81. A non-meta lic handle sleeve 83 encircles the sleeve 80 and is retained-in position by a nut 84 pressing the o posite end of said sleeve against collar 81. he nut 84 has an integral collar ring 85 for purposes which will appear hereinafter. The rotary brush comprises a hollow core 86 into which the brush tufts 14-are secured preferably by metal stitching (not shown which in itself is not m l'i1 1venti on. "A hu sleeve 87 extends throug the core 86. and has an overturned end 88 reacting against an end disk 89 and is secured vin position by a nut 90 threaded upon the opplge end therefl #In ay referred embodiment, the ,brush `is f driven` rom the flexible shaft 67 through a, "resilient element.l This `element preferably y coil spring 92 'ofsubstanfl "tial length extending through the` entire length-l of the hub 87 and rotruding therebeyond as at 93. Illustratively, the extrem?. ity Vo fsaid spring may secured: thereto by meansof a set' screw 95.

.The sleeve 80 ispreferably vb`rass,' and as lmountlng the brush. Thefflexihle shaft 67 has arelatively fixed attachment only lat the icli the, co'rreshown, affords La thrust bearin'g199latfits extremity or end` of; the fiexible shaft 67 '9 stool, so that when the'y handle is heldy downward the weight of the brush is suspended from the bearing 53 throughthelength of fiexibleshaft67. y.

In use, the operator, seated on his stool, having daubed the shoe,

though speedsconsiderably higher may be` used to advantage. The operator gently holds the brush against the shoe, `while passin it over the surface thereof. In practice,

simply turns they switch button 5,1 under thefseat, whereupon.

it 1s neither necessary nor desirable to exert any substantial pressure through the brush. In a maximum of a minute to 90 seconds, the shoes become highly polished. I have discovered that this operation produces and more permanent polish than results from more'intense pressure. If, however, the op` erator should, press\hard upon the shoe, no injury'will result from overloading the motor because the helical driving, spring 92 through which the torque fromthe exible shaft 67 is transmitted to the brush, will yield laterally and thereby assure a gradual application of the load to the motor. No particular skill is requiredfby my arrangement in order vto dispose the brush in mostefective position relative to the shoe. 'Regardless at what angle the brush handle beheld, thehelical spring will yieldllaterallyfsofthatthe elements of the cylindrical-'brush#will-contact the shoe substantiallythroughout the'length Myl arrangement of Abrush and driving 'a Vfool-proof one, which means`'is"ess enfia1ly y v will withstand.-'substantially all kinds of rough "usage, brush 'operate'leffectivellyfevenftliough :the jiiriior sheath 75 4'with its i encloSedf flexible lshaft 67 n excessive l oad is The a higher miv lt'sto the i My tests have-shown that with a single` armor sheath, a substantial kink or bend may result in rupture. By providing the double sheath armor, as set forth, I have produced a construction of durability, far more than doubled. Apparently, each of the sheaths affords a sliding bearing for the other and when the hose is held in the hand and bent, the sliding displacement of the outer lsheath along t-he surface ofthe inner is readily felt;

The disk or collar ring 85 serves as a rest for the hand in use. Moreover, when it is desired to 1 lay down the brush, when still spinning, the handle member is. merely laid crossways upon the terminal piece 77, as best shown in Fig. 3. The terminal being inclined downward toward the metal panel 52, it will be seen that the handle 83 tends to slide to; Ward the panel, and the end disk 85 sustains the brush from being drawn off by the weight of the depending fiexible shaft and armor sheath 75. j

The various threaded connections afforded in my driving transmission, including that at the driving stub shaft at 78, and the thread 97 securing the brush 14 are preferably righthand threads, opposite to the direction of rotation of the flexible driving shaft 67. Thus,

obviously, the. tendency of the rotating mechamsm is to tighten rather than to loosen these threads. vwhich threads,therefore, need not be and preferably are not locked. This arrangement, it will be seen, affords great con-` y venience for replacing a black brush, say with a tan one, in the course of ordinary use of the equipment. All that is necessary to do is for the operator to revolve the brush upon its handle in clockwise direction by hand and draw Ait olf, slipping the substitute brush thereover, and without any further operation,

as soon as he holds the brush against the shoe. the thread is automatically closed and remains secure throughout use.

lVhile the inner flexible driving shaft may be made according to familiar practice, a most durable and desirable shaft is provided by forming the same from a single length of 'steel frame wire, drawing said Awire back and forth in preferably eight or nine longitudinal strands 100, and then tightly windingthe remaining length ofv wire about said strands as a core with the--convolutions 101 i-n close contiguity to eachother. Thereby is provided a self-contained unit length of flexible shaft for my purpose, to one end of which vwould be brazed the socket terminal andy to the other end the shaft terminal. The brazed ends prevent separation or loosening -of-the conv'ol tions ors readin of .from .a reel. l

fiexible 'shaft 114 at the outer end of which is mounted the rotary brush 115, all as in the embodiment of Flg. 1. At the forward end of the chassis, is a steering wheel 116,

v\the mounting clevis 117 of which is fixed to an upstanding post 118 *rotatably mounted in bearing 119 and carrying the foot rest 120 at its upper end. It will be understood that the outlet at the end of. the flexible conduits 121 of the motor 122 will be plugged in b y the boot black at one of' the outlet boxes used by the barber for operating his electrical equipment. and the mode of use of the installation will be apparent from the previous description.

t will thus be seen that therev is herein described apparatus in which the several features of this invention are embodied, and which apparatus in its action attains the various objects of the invention and is well suited to meet the requirements of practical use.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and 4many apparently widely diffe-rent embodiments of this inventio'n could be made without departing-from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown i/n the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters- Patent is; l

1. A .power driven brush, having a drive shaft including-a Ilaterally yielding resilient torque transmitting member at the outer end of said drive shaft, a brush having a hub encircling said resilient member, extending substantially the'length thereof and affixed to the outer-or free end thereof, and a handle adjacent said brush through which said drive shaft extends.

2. A power driven brush comprising a transmission shaft, a helical coil spring affix/ed to the outer ,end of said shaft, a rotary brush havinga hub encirclingsaid coil spring,

means securing said brush to the outer end ofnsaid coil spring and a handle sleeve for said brush encircling said transmission shaft and alixed adjacent said brush.y

The unit 8.- A power driven rotary brush, having a hollow hub, a. power transmission shaft in- "cluding a coil spring. extending through said 1crush hub and Substantially the entire length thereof, means ailixing said brush at the outer end thereof to the outer end of said coil spring, a handle sleeve swivelled about said 54 transmission shaft and means retaining sai sleeve contiguous to said brush.

4. A power driven rotary brush having a hollow hub, a helical torsion spring extending through said hub and the entire lengthY thereof, a power transmitting .shaft having fixed to the outer end thereof the inner e'nd of lsaid spring, a part of the length of said driving spring protruding between the spring end of said shaft and the end oft-the brush hub, means securing the outer end of the helical spring rigidly to the outer end of the brush hub, and a handle sleeve having a swivelling mount upon said rotary shaft adjacent said brush. A

' 5. In apparatus of the character described a rotary brush having a hollow hub, a power` transmitting shaft, a helical driving spring secured to the outer end of said shaft and exv tending through said brush substantially the 2B entire length of the hub thereof, said helical spring having a threaded nipple at the outer end thereof, said brush hub having a nut n threaded upon said nipple in direction opl posite to that in'which the power is applic $0 in use of the brush. v

Y 6. A rotary brush vunit comprising a hollow hub having a nut at one end thereof, a helical coil spring of diameter nearly equav to the bore of said hub and having'a threaded nipple releasably withl said nut, said helical coil spring protruding beyond the opposite end of said hub for engagement power shaft.

,4D v, 7. In apparatus of the character described a flexible drivin shaft, a rigid 'haft secured .to the end of sai shaft, a rotary implement,

d rigid shaft affixed lan elongated helical coil spring aixed lat one at the outer end thereof for coaction thereabout and fixed-against longitudinalv l displacement with respect to said tool.

10. In a power driven shoe shining device, the combination of a exible driving shaft, a to the outer end thereof,

end 'to tle outer part o f said ri 'd shaft, a rotary brushlhaving'a hollow hu encircling said coil spring with small clearance, means securing the outer end of said hub to the outer end ofsaid spring, a short part of the length n of said spring being exposed (between the rigid shaft and the contlguous end of the hub, and a hollow handle lsleeve encircling said rigid shaft, limited against displacement longitudinally thereof and permitting free rotation of said shaft therein.

11. A power driven shoe shining device in'- cludin a flexible driving shaft, a haft into one en of which the extremity of saidl driv ing shaft is secured, a coupling vsleeve attached to the other `end of said haft, a helical coil driving spring a'xed at one end to said coupling sleeve, a rotary brush having a hollow hub encircling said coil spring, means detachably securlng the outer end of said hub to thel outer end of said coil spring, a handle sleeve encirclingsaid haft and means limitd ing longitudinal displacement of. said handle sleeve. 4

Signed at New York in the count of New York and State of New York this 5 day of 1 January, A. D. 1927.

HERMAN E. scrr'ULsE'.

with a rotary a resilient transmission member secured to A said implement, and at one end to the-outer about said haft; l

8. In apparatus of the character described a flexible driving shaft, arigid shaft secured to the end of said `sl1aft, a rotary implement having a hollow hub, a resilient transmission end of said haft, anda handle sleeve for said implement having a swivelling connectionlmember secured at one end toi said rigid shaft a swivelling coni the outer end of said means attach- 

